Renewable Energy Systems has announced the completed construction of the Cedar Point Wind Project in Limon, Colo. The 250-megawatt (MW) capacity wind farm will generate enough electricity to power about 80,000 homes and avoid almost 783,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The project uses 139 Vestas 1.8-MW turbines. Power generated by the project, about 80 miles east of Denver, will go to Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, under a 20-year agreement. The new wind power capacity will help move the utility toward generating 30 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020, as required under Colorado’s renewable energy standard.

image via Shutterstock

The project was developed for Enbridge, a Canadian natural gas transmission and distribution company. Enbridge’s renewable and alternative energy portfolio includes seven wind projects, three solar farms — including the 80-MW Sarnia Solar Project, one of the largest of its kind in the world — a geothermal plant and four waste heat recovery plants.

Cedar Point, Enbridge’s first wind project in the United States, will soon have a neighbor: Earlier this year we reported on NextEra’s plans to build the 200-MW Limon Wind Energy Center, consisting of 125 wind turbines. Xcel has contracted for power produced from that plant as well.

Lauren Craig is a writer and consultant living in Seattle, WA. She holds an M.S. in International Development from Tulane University, and is co-founder of Sustainable Systems Integrators, LLC., an employee-owned solar energy design and installation firm in New Orleans, LA. She is also certified in PV design and installation by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).